CAB fair promotes healthy lifestyle

Freshman Resident Housing Association member Garrett Hoffman quizzes students on proper laundry settings at CAB’s Health and Fitness Fair Sept. 19. David Vorobyov, junior, celebrates after winning a shirt by answering the questions correctly. RHA was promoting good mental and emotional health along with cleanliness for first-time college residents. / photo by Celine Dehban

Alison Rodriguez
Staff Writer

Developing a healthy lifestyle can be hard, especially in college. However, the Campus Activities Board made it a bit easier by holding a Health and Fitness Fair on the Lawn on Thursday, Sept. 19 to encourage new ways to work out, eat right, and have fun.

The fitness fair was run by CAB philanthropy chairwoman Danielle Garcia, and it included booths for activities such as yoga, boxing, gym memberships to Crunch Fitness, a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of no judgment, and more.

“Typically, once you go into college, you’re not as active as you were in high school,” Garcia said.

Voices In Action, a club focused on creating awareness and focusing on what humans do that affect the rest of the world, also made an appearance at the event, promoting healthier eating habits.

CAB handed out free water bottles and sweat towels at the event to encourage students to be active.

“I wanted to share my passion with everyone and show them that there are better alternatives than the typical workouts.”

Over 150 students attended the event and 15 signed up for the special gym membership offered by Crunch Fitness. Students had the opportunity to gain access to Crunch Fitness for only $10 a month. Other specials included free yoga classes from Hot Yoga and a chance to try out the Healthy Athletic Monsters (HAM) Fit Club in a fun workout out on the Lawn.

“I think it was a good idea for CAB to have an event like this, because it is something that people especially in college should know about,” sophomore psychology major Nina Doyle said.

Voices in Action’s slogan for the event was “know the meat you eat”, and their goal was to inform students that meat is often treated with hormones and antibiotics.

“We should know what is in our meat,” secretary for Voices In Action Candace Bustos said. “For example if you look at produce codes, those that start with the number 9 are organically grown and those that start with the number 5 are genetically modified. We’re not saying go vegan, but just be aware of what you’re consuming.”

The health center participated in the event as well and had a wellness booth promoting student health and awareness; another booth promoted awareness of Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that affects the lungs.

“I liked the fitness clubs like Crunch Fitness and Hot Yoga, as well as the Voices In Action. ‘Know the meat you eat’ was a great idea.”

“As far as I am concerned I thought it was a great success,” sophomore CAB member Chris Gonzalez said. “It is always nice to start the school year with an event that reminds students to make sure they take care of themselves while at college.”

“It is nice to get to know the collegiate options for staying in shape whether it is a gym membership, boxing/yoga sessions, or simply signing up for a health oriented club such as the HAM Fit Club.”

For more information on fitness clubs or for any other information to get involved, visit the Office of Student Life in the Campus Center.